Automatic musical instrument



Filed March 26. 1928 n N m 4 m 0 m m %I hm. \Y W w n a. .H. v 2 b hm ||L Q H W i 3 n Q nu 3 v Q v 4 m an w 2 Q Q s N M Nb N 3 on "3 3 0C z -::1 v .5}--- 3 11.1 mm a llllllll E N x Q Q mm 2 E Q 5H WWW 2 N .m M W Patented Sept. 9, 1930 EDMOND VERLINDEN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Application filed March 26, 1928. Serial No. 264,685.

The invention relates to automatic musical instruments and more particularly to that type of instrument which combines a piano and organ action.

It has heretofore been proposed to con struct a player piano with an additional manual for manually controlling an organ action independently of the piano action and to include in the piano means whereby the organ .10 action is capable of automatic control conjointly with the piano action, thus providing an automatic musical instrument which finds application in theaters, mortuary chapels and othe places. In carrying out this scheme of control, it has been customary to provide pneumatically operated organ-action-c0ntrolling instrumentalities similar in operation to the pneumatic devices in the piano action and including pneumatc conduits tapped into the suction tubes leading to the tracker bar. Such organization requires complicated construction, restricts the placement of the organ stops to locations in close proximity to the piano action and invites frequent adjustment, re-

placement and repairs.

It is an object of the present invention to greatly simplify this general organization by providing a key-action-controlling circuitcloser having a mechanical connection with a manual key and including a pneumatic actuating element whereby the circuit-closer is also capable of automatic actuation independently of the manual key.

Another object is to provide the pneumatic actuating element with a direct pneumatic connection to a striker pneumatic of the piano action, thus avoiding the use of bleed openings and permitting simplified construction.

A further object is to provide a circuitcloser of this character including a pneumatic having a conta ctor thereon cooperating with key action-controlling contacts and also having an arm by which the pneumatic is dis placed mechanically by a manual key.

A further object is to provide simple but effective means for adjusting the contactor on the pneumatic and for adjusting the keyactuated arm on the pneumatic.

A further object is to provide simple and effective means for adjusting the manual keys.

A further object is to simplify the tension on and improve the pivotal mounting for the manual keys.

A further object is to perfect details of con struction generally to the end the assembly and reducing co ture.

The invention further cons eral features hereinafter set forth and more 56 of simplifying st of manufacists in the sevment embodying the invention Fig. 2 is a fragmental detail the key bed and circuit-con thereon; and

bottom view of trolling means Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of the mounting for the manual keys In these drawings, the numeral 10 desigusually a piano case,

nates an instrument case,

including the usual manual keys 11 forming part of a piano action construction. The piano cas therein a pneumatic player'action 13 of usual apertured tracker perforated music construction including an bar 14 over which travels a 12 of conventional e has mounted sheet 15 unrolling from a music roll 16 onto a take-up roll 17.

tracker bar ducts with condui Tubing 18 connects the ts 19 in a valve block 20 in which is formed a suction chamber 21. A pouch or membrane 22 1s interposed between each conduit 19 and ber 21 and bears on one end of having mounted thereon valve disks 24 and 2a co-operates with a 25. The valve disk the suction chama valve stem 23 valve seat 26 to normally close the suction chamber from a passage 27 leading to a stricker pneumatic 28, and the valve disk 25. co-

operates with a valve seat 29 for normally lacin the assa e 27 in communication with the atmosphere. in the valve block connects e with the place the conduit under pneumatic 28 includes suction chamber 2 suction. Each striker the usual push rod 81 The usual bleed passage 30 ach conduit 19 1 to normally having a connection with the piano action 12.

lVhen the perforated music over the tracker bar 14 air pressure is intermittently ad sheet 15 travels at atmospheric mited into the tubing 18 and conduit 19, thus causing the displacement of the membrane 22 and the valve stem 23 in such direction as to unseat the valve disk 24 from the valve seat 26 for placing the passage 27 under suction and to simultaneously move the valve disk into engagement with the valve seat 29 for closing the passage 27 from the atmosphere. Suction is then communicated to the striker pneumatic 28, causing the collapse of this pneumatic and consequent displacement of the push rod 31 to sound a note. tracker duct is again covered by the music sheet, the bleed opening place the conduit 19 under suction and to permit the return of the valve stem 23 to its normal position under the influence of atmospheric pressure acting on the valve disks 25 and 24. The above-described operation is the usual one occurring in player actions of conventional construction.

A depending nipple 32 is mounted in the valve block in communication with the passage 27 leading to the striker pneumatic 28, and a short length of tubing 33 connects this nipple with another nipple 34 mounted in the rear portions of a key bed supporting strip 35 which is fixedly secured to the lower edge portions of the valve block 20. The supportmg strip 35 is of angle cross-section and the forward portions thereof project upwardly in front of the valve block 20, the strip being provided with a. plurality of angle-shaped passages 36 (one being shown) each having the nipple 34 introduced therein at its rear end and each opennig at its forward end at the upper surface of the strip in front of the valve block 20.

A key bed 37 is spaced above the piano keys 11 and is removably mounted in place at its rear edge portions on the forward and upper portions of the supporting strip 35 as by means of screws 38. The key bed 37 is provided with a plurality of conduits or channels 39, each of which communicates at its rear end with one of the channels 36 and at its forward end with the interior of a pneumatic 40 secured to the underface of the key bed. The pneumatic 40 is preferably of that type including a resilient membrane which normally holds the pneumatic in expanded position. The movable leaf 41 of the pneumatic has mounted thereon an angle-shaped contactor 42 of resilient sheet metal which is engageable witha series of resilient contact fingers or wires 43 mounted in a slotted block 44 secured to the under face of the key bed at the rear of the pneumatic 40. An angle-shaped cable support 45 is mounted below the block 44 to receive a wiring cable 46.

One of the contact wires 43 is connected by a conductor 47 to a battery 48 or other source of current, and the other side of the battery is connected by a conductor 49 leading to the valve-controlling electro-magnet 50 of an or- As soon as the 30 serves to again.

gan key-action 51 of conventional construction including an organ pipe 51. The other side of the electro-magnet is connected by a conductor 52 to a switch 53 which is a gang switch of a type commonly employed in organ building. The other side of the switch 53 is connected by a conductor 54 which leads to another of the contact wires 43. The remaining contact wires 43 are connected in a similar manner to other similar gang switches (not shown) for controlling other key-actions of steps of different tone character, thus facilitatingthe formation of combinations.

When the gang switch 53 is closed the sub sequent engagement of the contactor 42 with the contact wires 43 establishes a circuit through the conductors above noted thus energizing the electro-magnet 50 and causing the pipe 51 to speak.

The movable leaf 41 of the pneumatic 40 has also mounted thereon a forwardly projecting sheet metal arm or tail piece 55, the forward end portion of which is engageable by a resilient button 56 secured at the lower end of a stem 5? extending through an opening 58 in the key bed and having its upper end fixedly secured to the underside of one of a series of keys 59 mounted above the key bed.

The key bed 37 includes at its rear portion a longitudinally disposed strip 60 which has mounted therein spaced upstanding cotter pins 61 having aligned eyed heads receiving therethrough a pivot bar or wire 62 on which the keys are pivotally mounted. As seen in Fig. 3, the sides of the keys 59 are relieved at their rear end portions to receive the cotter pins 61 between them and, if desired, felt washers 62 may be interposed between the keys and the cotter pins. The rear end portion of each key has formed therein an upright groove 63 to receive an upstanding guide pin '64 whichis fixedly mounted in the key bed strip 60, thus preventing wobbling of the key.

he forward portion of the key has a transverse groove 65 formed therein on its underside to provide clearance for the upper edge of an apron .66 mounted at the forward edge of the key bed and depending therefrom to a point in proximity to the upper face of the piano keys 11. A resilient strip 67 placed on the upper face of the key bed adjacent the apron 66 serves to insure noiseless operation of the keys 5S, and a pin 68 upstanding from the key bed 37 extends into slot 69 formed in the key to guide the key in its movement against lateral deflection.

An upright threaded bore 70 extends through the key bed 37 below each key 59 and has threaded therein a set screw 71 against which bears the lower end of a coiled spring 72, the upper end of which extends into a recess 73 in the key 59. The use of this construction permits the keys 59 to be properly tensioned in a simple manner, as this can readily be done before the key bed 37 is mounted in place. The wiring cable 46 is also completely connected tothe contact wires 43 before mounting the key bed. Should inspection or repairs ever become necessary, the key bed may readily be removed or displaced from its operative position by simply removing the screws 38.

In order to facilitate the adjustment of the of the contactor tontactor 42 on the pneumatic 40, the cont-actor is slightly bent to form a transversely extending fulcrum edge at an intermediate portion at which it bears on the movable leaf ll of the pneumatic 40, and the end portion is apertured to receive a mounting screw 74 therethrough entering the movable leaf 4:1. The portions of the contactor on the other side of the fulcrum edge are apcrtured to receive two screws 75 near opposite sides of the contactor entering the movable leaf ll of the pneumatic. In this manner, by mutual adjustment of the screws 74 and 75, the contactor l2 may be rocked to a suitable position on its fulcrum edge, and the forward contact blade portion of the contactor can be torsionally warped into proper position with respect to the pneumatic and to the contact fingers 43 by manipulating one or the other of the screws 75.

The arm or tail piece is also bent slightly near one end to form a fulcrum edge and attaching screws '26 pass through the arm on opposite sides of the fulcrum edge to permit rocking of the arm to adjusted position by mutually manipulating the screws 7 6.

In operation, it is possible to manually depress the piano keys 11 to operate the piano action. in the usual manner independently of the organ action. It is also possible, by disabling the gang switch 53, to operate the piano act-ion alone automatically through the self player in the conventional manner heretofore described. Whenever this is done, the suction inter-.-ittently existing in the passage 27 and in the connected striker pneumatic 28 is con'nnunicated through tubing 33 and the conduits 36 and 89 to the pneumatic 40, cansin this pneumatic to collapse idly in synohronism with the collapse of the striker pneumatic.

i i hen the organ is to be manually played, the gang switch 53 is closed and the keys 59 of the organ manual are used. When a key 59 is depressed the button 55 at the end of the stem 57 secured to the key engages the arm or tail piece 55 of the pneumatic 40 and directly displaces the movable leaf 41 of the pneumatic to establish a contact between the contactor i2 and the contact fingers or wires i3, thus closing a key-action-controlling circult, heretofore described, causing the come sponding pipe to speak. Since the pneumatic i0 is small in size and normally in direct communication with the atmosphere, it offers no appreciable resistance to the depression of the key 59.

Vhen the piano action and organ action are to be automatically operated together, the gang switch 53 is closed and the collapse of the pneumatic 40 in synchronism with the collapse of the corresponding striker pneumatic 28, as heretofore described, establishes the organ key-action-controlling circuits simultaneously with the striking of the piano strings. As soon as the passage 27 leading to the striker pneumatic is again placed in communication with the atmosphere by the unseating of the Valve disk 25, the pneumatic 40 is simultaneously placed in communication with the atmosphere through the tubing and the conduits 36 and 39, thus causing the prompt release of the contactor 42 from the contact wires 13 in readiness for a subsequent circuit-closing operation.

In this manner the operation of the keyaction-controlling pneumatics 41 is eifected without the necessity for providing bleed openings, and the simplicity of the structure facilitates manufacture and insures reliabil ity in use.

The term key-actions nate those portions of the organ mechanism which, when incorporated in the ordinary manual organ, are operated from the manual (or pedal) keys, for sounding the different notes of the sound devices or pipes.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a key-action-controlling circuit-closer, a key having a me chanical actuating connection with said circult-closer, and pneumatic means for automatically and momentarily actuating said circuit-closer.

2. The combination of a key-action-coin trolling circuit-closer, a key having a separable mechanical actuating connect-ion therewith, and pneumatic means for automatically and momentarily operating said circuitcloser independently of said key.

3. The combination of a key-action-con trolling circuit-closer, a pneumatic actuating element therefor, pneumatic means having a connection with said pneumatic element for automatically and momentarily operating said circuit-closer, and a key having a mechanical actuating connection with said pneumatic element for manually operating said circuit-closer.

i. The combination of a key-action-controlling circuit-closer, a pneumatic for actuating said circuit-closer, pneumatic means having a connection with. said pneumatic for momentarily operating said circuitcloser, an arm carried by said pneumatic, and a key having a connection with said arm for operating said circuit-closer.

5. The combination, player action including is used to desigwith a pneumatic a suction-operated Jim striker pneumatic having communication to atmosphere in its inoperative position, a keyaction-controlling circuit-closer, and a pneumatic actuating element for said circuitcloser in communication with said striker pneumatic.

6. The combination, with a pneumatic player action including a suction-operated striker pneumatic having communication to atmosphere in its inoperative position, a keyaction controlling circuit-closer, a pneumatic actuating element for said circuit-closer in communication with said striker pneumatic, and a key having a mechanical connection with said circuit-closer for manually-operating said circuit-closer.

7. The combination of a key bed, a key mounted on said bed, a pneumatic element mounted on said bed, a key-action controlling circuit-closer momentarily operable by said pneumatic element, and a mechanical operating connection between said key and said circuit-closer.

8. The combination, with a player action including a conduit normally open to atmosphere and communicating with a striker pneumatic and momentarily under suction to operate said striker pneumatic during a noteplaying period, of a key-action-controlling circuit-closer, and a pneumatic actuating element for said circuit-closer in communication with said conduit for operation simultaneously with said striker pneumatic.

9. The combination of a key bed, a key mounted on said key bed, a pneumatic mounted on said key bed, a key-action-controlling circuit-closer actuated by said pneumatic, an armcarried by said pneumatic, and a stem carried by said key and engageable with said arm for displacing said pneumatic to thereby operate said circuit-closer.

10. The combination of a key bed having a pneumatic element thereon and a conduit therein communicating with said pneumatic element and opening at the rear portion of said key bed, a supporting member having a conduit therein adapted to register with the opening of said first-named conduit, and means for detachably mounting said key bed on said supporting member with said conduits in communication.

11. The combination of a key bed having a pneumatic element thereon and a conduit therein communicating with said pneumatic element and opening downwardly at tne rear portion of said key bed, a supporting member having conduit therein opening upwardly for registration with the open end ofsaid first-named conduit, and means for detachably mounting said key bed on said supporting member with said conduits in communication.

12. The combination of a pneumatic, a contact element, a contactor co-operating with said contact element and having an intermediate fulcrum bearing on said pneu matic, and adjustable fastening elements securing said contactor to said pneumatic and disposed on opposite sides of said fulcrum for rocking said fulcrumed contactor on said pneumatic to angularly position said contactor thereon.

13. The combination of a pneumatic, a plurality of contact elements, a resilient contactor co-operating with said contact elements and mounted on said pneumatic, and a "air of adjustable fastening elements securing said contactor on said pneumatic near opposite sides thereof for torsionally warping said contactor with respect to said pneumatic.

14C. The combination of pneumatic, a plurality of contact elements, a resilient contactor co-operating with said contact elements and mounted on said pneumatic, and means for torsionally warping said contactor with respect to said pneumatic to adjust the contact engagement of said contactor with said contact elements.

15. The combination of a pneumatic, a member bearing on said pneumatic at a tulcrum, and adjustable fastening elements disposed on opposite sides of said fulcrum for securing said member to said pneumatic for adjusting the relative angular relation of said member to said pneumatic.

l6. The combination of a key bed having an upright bore therethrough, a key pivotally mounted on said key bed, a threaded member having a vertically adjustable threaded connection in said bore, and a coiled spring extending into said bore in engagement with said threaded member and engageable at its upper end with said key for tensioning said key.

17. The combination of a key bed having an upright bore therethrough, a key pivotally mounted on said key bed, a threaded member having a vertically adjustable threaded connection in said bore, and a coiled spring interposed between said threaded member and key for tensioning said key.

18. The combination of a support, spaced upstandi pins secured to said support and having aligned apertures at their upper ends, a rod mounted in said apertures, and a plurality of keys pivotally mounted on said rod between said pins.

19. The combination of a support, a rod mounted above said support, a key pivotally mounted on said rod and having an upright channel in its rear end portion, and an upstanding guide pin secured in said support and fitting in said channel.

20. The combination of a contact element, a member relatively movable witn respect to said contact element, a contactor co-operating with said contact element and having an intermediate fulcrum bearing on said member, and adjustable fastening elements securing said contactor to said member and disposed on opposite sides of said fulcrum for rocking said fulcrumed contactor thereon.

21. The combination of a plurality of contact elements, a member movable relatively thereto, a resilient contactor co-operating with said contact elements and mounted on said member, and means for torsionally warping said contactor with respect to said member to adjust the contact engagement of said contactor with said contact elements.

22. The combination of a key bed, a key mounted above said bed, a pneumatic element mounted below said bed, a key-actioncontrolling circuit-closer disposed below said key bed and operable by said pneumatic element, and a mechanical actuating connection between said key and said circuit-closer.

23. The combination of a key bed, a key mounted above said bed, a pneumatic element mounted below said bed, a key-action-controlling circuit-closer disposed below said key bed and operable by said pneumatic element, and a mechanical actuating connection between said key and said circuit-closer including a part extending through said key bed.

24. The combination of akey bed having a pneumatic element therebelow and a conduit communicating with said pneumatic element, a supporting member for said key bed having a conduit therein communicating with said first-named conduit, and means for displaceably mounting said key bed on said supporting member to permit upward movement of said key bed for affording free access to said pneumatic element.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

EDMOND VERLINDEN. 

